My Puppet Experiments!

Here are a few examples of my own puppet experiments...

Finger Puppets

I've kept the puppets simple, making them out of felt that I stiched together. Using felt creates a softness that is appealing to the younger viewer, as well as adults. To incorporate the finger puppets into my story so they can be used for interaction and enjoyment, I would either: use them as an aid to go along side my orginial book, or use them in a staged theatre in which a participant can tell the story themselves.

All the characters of my book presented as finger puppets

Part of a stage/theatre that I made

Part of a stage/theatre that I made

My second experiment using finger sized puppets was to sew the puppets into book pages to incorporate them directly into the story - in a similar mannor to that of the 'Baby Lamb' book that I posted about earlier.

Hedgehog character that will be the consistant throughout the book

The underneath of the Hedgehog character - how it's attached to the page

Below is the Squirrel finger puppet attached to a page. The hole at the bottom of the page is for the Hedgehog character to fit through.

Below is the Badger finger puppet attached to a page.

Below is the Hare finger puppet attached to a page.

By creating these dummy pages of the puppets incorporated into a book page, I can gage that by using this method the audience participation feels limited and akward by the set poses of the puppets and how they can only move backwards and forwards. I think the enjoyment factor of this method would wear thin (especially for a young child) because of this limitation and akwardness when handling the pages.


 Below is a larger and more malleable version of of the Hedgehog puppet. This time I'm going to use just the one Hedgehog puppet, and put him into illustrations from the original book

The Hedgehog peeping out the log

The Hedgehog finding a pile of leaves to hibernate in


Using the just the Hedgehog puppet felt like I was limiting the variety, and therefore the enjoyment of an audience interaction - just having one puppet can get quite boring for a child to concentrate on.

Puppet Research - Puppet Theatres

Using hand puppets or finger puppets in a staged version of the story book allows the audience to become completely involved and interactive with the story as they are the ones acting it out.

Puppet Theatre

Puppet Research - Hand Puppets

Hand puppets are, obviously, just a larger variation of a finger puppets, but again they have a cute appeal to both children and adults.

Puppet Research - Baby Lamb Puppet Book

The book 'Baby Lamb' encorporates a hand puppet into the pages of the book, creating a movable character that pops out of the page.

Here are some photos of my own copy of the book...

Again, this is another method that I can consider to experiment in when using puppets.

Puppet Research - Puppets By Post

'Puppets By Post' is a company that create a vast range of finger puppets, hand puppets, dolls, marionettes, and soft toys.


Finger Puppets

Finger puppets are a managable size for both children and adults. They also create the opportunity for character interaction via audience participation. The soft, plush appearance also appeals to all ages.

Hedgehog finger puppet created by 'Puppets By Post'

Squirrel finger puppet created by 'Puppets By Post' 

Badger finger puppet created by 'Puppets By Post'

Hare finger puppet created by 'Puppets By Post'

Above, are images of the puppets that would be suitable for my book that  have been created by the Puppets By Post company. These puppets are quite complex in their execution, but I can still use these as inspiration for my own finger puppet experiments.

Puppet Research

Some famous children's book titles have been turned into editions that use puppets to aid with storytelling.

'The Gruffalo' written by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler

Traditional story of Goldilcks and the Three Bears



'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' by Eric Carle

The Next Experiment - Soft Puppets

Puppets have been used for years to provide a source of interactive entertainment for people, so, for my next experiment, I am going to encorporate finger/hand puppets (as they are a more manageable size for children) into telling the story of 'Hedgehog Hibernates'.